Study: German bioethanol saves up to 80% CO2 emissions – Federal Cabine forces over 25 per cent of biofuel manufactureers into bankruptcy

Berlin, 25 November 2008 German bioethanol manufactured from grain emits up to 80% less CO2 than fossil fuels. These are the findings of a study carried out by the Heidelberg IFEU Institute (Institute for Energy and Environmental Research) and commissioned by the biofuel manufacturer VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG. “We are very gratified by the positive results which have emerged from this investigation of our production plants. With the impetus provided by the enormous potential of our production techniques, VERBIO will be commissioning the world’s two largest biogas plants next year,” says Claus Sauter, VERBIO’s CEO. “The best part about it is that the raw material for the biogas production is a waste product of the ethanol production.“

Despite the technological progress being made and the CO2-efficiency of biofuels, the manufacturers are facing a wave of bankruptcies due to planned legislation. According to a proposal tabled by the Federal Cabinet, the present level of 7.6% for biofuels in the total fuel market is to be drastically reduced in the coming year. The anticipated proportion of the market covered by biodiesel and bioethanol would then amount to only 5.6%. With this step, the government would cause the entire biofuel market to shrink by over 25%, which would mean that German production facilities would be working at just over half their total capacities. “We appeal to the Federal Government not to pass this legislation. It would mean that the medium sized enterprises which have established themselves since 2004 would disappear from the market, and only a few major companies would survive,” says Johannes Lackmann, Managing Director of the German Biofuels Industry Association (VDB). “The Federal Government is acting quite irrationally, for without biofuels accounting for an increasing proportion of the total market, its own targets in combating climate change get further and further out of reach.”

Amongst other things, these targets include reducing CO2 emissions through the use of biofuels. For this reason the IFEU Institute undertook an examination of the production techniques for the manufacture of bioethanol at VERBIO’s two facilities in Schwedt/Oder and Zörbig, with the aim of determining how much CO2 can be avoided under the prevailing production conditions. The results show that all the techniques and plants under investigation return significantly better CO2 savings than the 30% which are specified in the German Biomass Sustainability Ordinance.
As the Zörbig plant also produces biogas by using the waste products from the primary production process, and the straw is used as a source of energy as well, this is where the highest CO2 savings are achieved: more than 80% compared with fossil fuels. In its study, the IFEU included all factors influencing the overall energy balance, including the recovery of fertiliser from the plants used.

VERBIO’s production techniques for bioethanol or E85 production already count amongst the most efficient methods for avoiding CO2 emissions whilst maintaining unrestricted mobility. Thanks to tax concessions, E85 costs less than 1 euro a litre. This means that environmentally friendly driving can be combined with good value for money. Many manufacturers include in their product range so-called Flexifuel Vehicles (FFV), which can be fuelled using either petrol or E85. But even older vehicles with petrol engines can be easily converted to E85. More information on this subject is available at www.e85-biokraftstoff.de

Contact

VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG
Sandra Haacker (Public Relations)
Anna-Maria Schneider (Investor Relations)
Augustusplatz 9
D-04109 Leipzig 
Phone.: +49 (0) 341 30 85 30 90
Fax: +49 (0) 341 30 85 30 99
E-mail: pr@verbio.de/ir@verbio.de
www.verbio.de

Verband der Deutschen Biokraftstoffindustrie (VDB)
Frank Brühning
Press Officer
Am Weidendamm 1A
D-10117 Berlin
Phone:+49 (0) 30 72 62 59 54
E-Mail: bruehning@biokraftstoffverband.de
www.biokraftstoffverband.de

Information concerning VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG

The VERBIO group is one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of biofuels and also Europe’s only industrial scale producer of biodiesel and bioethanol. The current nominal annual production capacities are around 450,000 tonnes for biodiesel and 300,000 tonnes for bioethanol. For the production of both fuel types VERBIO AG has developed its own, innovative production techniques and technologies. It supplies European petroleum groups, petroleum trading companies, independent fuel retailers and transport companies directly. In addition, VERBIO AG supplies high quality pharma glycerine to the consumer and cosmetics industries (glycerine is a by-product of biodiesel production). VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG acts as the management holding company for the VERBIO group. Business operations are delegated to the subsidiary companies VERBIO Diesel Bitterfeld GmbH & Co. KG, VERBIO Diesel Schwedt GmbH & Co. KG, VERBIO Ethanol Schwedt GmbH & Co. KG, VERBIO Ethanol Zörbig GmbH & Co. KG and VERBIO STS AG.